Dead Ducks Don't Flutter

Many years ago, a wealthy man went duck hunting with a hired hand named Sam. They took a horse and carriage, and along the way a rim came off one of the wheels. As Sam hammered it back on, he accidentally hit his finger. Instantly he let go with some bad words. He quickly fell to his knees, asking God’s forgiveness. “Lord, it’s difficult at times to live the Christian life”, he prayed. “Sam” said the man, “I know you’re a Christian, but tell me why you struggle so, I’m an atheist, and I don’t have problems like that.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. Just then two ducks flew overhead. The man raised his gun and two shots rang out. “Leave the dead one and go after that wounded bird!” he shouted. Sam pointed at the duck that was fluttering desperately to escape and said, “I’ve got an answer for you now, Boss. You said my Christianity isn’t any good because I have to struggle so. Well, I’m the wounded duck, and struggle to get away from the devil. But you Boss, you’re the dead duck!”

That insight fits Paul’s description of his Christian experience in Romans 7:14-25. Struggle is one evidence of God’s work in our lives Forgiveness of sin is available, so don’t despair. Remember, dead ducks don’t flutter.

–Dennis De Hann

Struggle, yes, it’s part of living

Nothing’s gained on beds of ease;

But when our heart is set on Jesus,

Struggle drives us to our knees.

–D. De Hann

If Jesus lives within us,

Sin need not overwhelm us.

From Our Daily Bread

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Where I found the story

The Battle Surrendered--Part 5 of 5

The last in the series! How fast time has flown! I hope you've enjoyed the story; I certainly have! If you haven't read the other stories yet, here they are: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Enjoy this last installment! 

Part Five

By ST SilverLoom 

“What? I don’t get it. You’re training me not to fight the shadow creatures? But they’ll keep bringing me back to that tower!” I was beginning to panic again.

Jesus placed His hands on my shoulders. “Dear heart, this is what I’ve been trying to teach you. Listen to Me. I want you to surrender.” He continued slowly and deliberately, “You will never be able to defeat the enemy. They are far too cunning…. But I can defeat them for you.”

At last, His point was starting to click inside my thick head.

He went on, “You have to let Me do it. Dear heart, I want so badly to help you. Surrender to Me.”

“But…,” I attempted an excuse and failed. There was nothing to say. His words went against every instinct in me, but He had to be right because He was Jesus.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement among the trees. By the time I turned to look, they were just a few feet away.

I screamed and fled, pulling away from Jesus as I ran, but the shadow creatures moved faster than I did. They were on me in a moment, their icy hands pulling me down.

And then I did the dumbest thing. I fought the shadow creatures. I tried to claw at them and bite their hands. I pushed and squirmed and screamed, but they held on.

The now familiar light suddenly bathed me in its unnatural glow. My head lolled and I felt my muscles slow down. Completely groggy, I couldn’t keep up the fight.

Something brushed my ear. “Follow meee…,” the creature beside me whispered.

No, I couldn’t. Why not? I didn’t know why not. The light made me so dizzy….

A sliver of sanity crossed my mind, telling me to surrender. Surrender to Him.

No, I could fight! I had to fight! I could do this!

The shadow creatures’ fingers felt so soft and smooth. The light made me so sleepy….

Surrender to Him.

This was a battle I could never win.

With the last strength I had, I made my choice. Covering my eyes with my hands, I cried, “Jesus, help me! I can’t do it without You!”

Not one second passed before He came. I sensed Him standing in front of me. I looked up into His face. The creatures were behind Him, but they were no longer gentle and alluring. Furious at His interference, they launched themselves onto His back, trying to tear at Him with their nails and teeth. He ignored them completely, untouched by their attacks. It was like they were just shadows to Him.

The shadow creatures’ false light still shown, but my mind was clear. Though their deceptive fingers had released me to attack Jesus, I was too shocked to stand.

Jesus watched me with a smile tugging at the corner of His mouth. I noticed His strong sword hung at His side.

He saw my glance and shook His head. “You still don’t understand. Dear heart, they have already been defeated.” He reached down toward me, the wounds made by the nails that held Him to the cross clearly visible. Grasping my hands in both of His, He pulled me to my feet. “You cannot defeat them. You cannot even resist them, except through Me. Use My strength; don’t depend on yours. I am faithful. I will provide a way out so that you can stand up under them.”

It was so easy, and yet so difficult. I suddenly felt like I wanted to cry, now that I was beginning to understand. “So,” I said past the lump in my throat, “all I have to do is…?”

“Hold on to Me.”

Gripping His hands tighter, I said, “Ok. I trust You.”

The smile that burst upon His face was the grandest I had ever seen.

Soon after, some of the shadow creatures tried to bring me back under their power. They whispered in my ears and pulled at my arms, but I kept a firm grasp on Jesus’s hands and never looked away from His face. It was almost funny, actually; what chance did the shadow creatures think they had while I was holding onto my Savior?

Eventually, the shadow creatures grew tired. Their light faded, and their masks of white skin disappeared with it. They slid, one by one, into the forest.

“We have arrived,” said Jesus. He turned me around.

I was in my bedroom. The first rays of dawn shone through the window, chasing away the night’s darkness. Jesus had disappeared.

Photo Courtesy

There was a book lying open on my bed. I looked at it more closely and realized it was my Bible. It had been turned to Romans, Chapters 7 and 8. Some of the verses near the end of Chapter 7 were highlighted. I read:

“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

The words brought me to my knees. I prayed, “Jesus, I want to keep holding on to You. I want to delight in this Book more and more so I can stay focused on You. Thank You for rescuing me.”

I looked down at my Bible again and noticed the last three verses of Chapter 8:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The End

The Battle Surrendered--Part 4 of 5

Here's part four already! Whew; how fast time has flown! Tomorrow I'll post part five. Enjoy!

Read the first three parts if you haven't already read them:

Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Part Four

By ST SilverLoom

A gentle touch pulled me from my slumber. I looked up. It was Him.

As fresh tears ran down my face, He pulled me into His arms. “I’m sorry,” I said, sobbing.

“Dear heart,” He said tenderly. “I forgive you.”

Photo Courtesy

He held me until my wails evolved into hiccuping spasms. Then He helped me stand. “Come on,” He said. “You can’t stay here.” Taking that small gold key from his pocket again, He unlocked the chains on my hands and feet.

I followed Him to the rope dangling into my prison through the crack in the wall. He gestured at our escape route and said, “After you.”

I tried to pull myself up the rope, but the sides of my prison had somehow become smoother than last time. My feet couldn’t find a good hold. If I hadn’t been so weak from days without eating, I may have been able to climb it, but I’m not sure.

After a few tries, I turned to Jesus. “I can’t do it. I can’t climb up.”

He nodded. “It’s always harder to escape the second time.”

“So, we’re stuck in here?!” I cried, panicking aloud.

He waited.

I remembered Who I was talking to. Not even a sealed tomb could keep Him in, much less my prison. “Can You help me get out? Please?”

With an ear-to-ear grin, He replied, “I was hoping you would ask.”

He climbed the rope as easily as a fish swims. When He was above ground, He told me to hang onto the rope. I obeyed, and He slowly drew me up. We were both under the blue sky in a matter of minutes.

Jesus untied the rope from the tree He had secured it to. As He began coiling the rope, a thought suddenly hit me, but I hesitated to say it aloud. He stopped His work and looked at me. “Go ahead,” He said.

“Jesus,” I said, “I know my capture was my own fault; I shouldn’t have given into the shadow creatures. But… why didn’t You help me? Didn’t You… I mean, You must have known what was happening. Didn’t You wake up?”

His eyes grew deeply sad. “Yes, dear heart, I knew what was happening. I was watching.” His voice cracked just a bit. “But,” He continued, “you didn’t ask Me to help. You were too busy trying to fight them on your own.”

“I have to ask for Your help?” How could He have just stood there and let me be dragged off? I was incredulous.

He was patient. “You have to want my help. I never force it on anyone. I will only help you if you want Me to. My way is the perfect way, but I gave you a free will to accept or decline My help.”

So it was still all my fault.

Photo Courtesy

We started walking through the forest, covering the same ground we had covered days ago. Jesus gave me some water and bread to eat as we walked. The sun moved across the sky slowly, but I kept a close eye on it. When it was past noon, I spoke up. “Hey, um, Jesus? Do You think now would be a good time to start my training? Because, those shadow creatures might come back for me tonight and I want to be prepared.”

“Your training has already begun.”

“What?” I cried. “But all I’ve done is get captured! You haven’t even given me the smallest bit of advice on how to wield a sword!”

He stopped and turned to look at me. “Did I ever say your training would involve weapons?”

“Um, well, not exactly….”

“I never hinted at anything of the sort.”

“But that’s what training is!” I protested.

Shaking His head, He explained, “You train to become better at something, and it doesn’t have to be with weapons. Athletes train to compete better, not battle.”

“But I thought You were going to train me to be a warrior to fight the shadow creatures!”

He looked me in the eyes before responding gently, “Dear heart, I am training you not to fight.”

The Battle Surrendered--Part 3 of 5

(Sorry I couldn't get this up earlier! We have been b.u.s.y.)
Here's part three! Read part 1 and part 2 if you already haven't! Enjoy!

Part Three

By ST SilverLoom 

We continued walking. And walking. And… walking. The forest floor was free of debris and, much to the relief of my bare feet, a soft carpet of moss covered the earth. But after several hours of walking, and walking, and… walking, I said, “Ok, don’t get me wrong. I want to follow You wherever You go. But can You give me some clue where we’re going? Please?”

“We are going home,” Jesus replied.

I gasped loudly, feeling both excitement and fear. He took one look at my face and cracked up. “No, dear heart! I mean your house. It’s not your time yet.”

“Oh,” I said. Then I saw the funny side of it and laughed along with Him. After a few minutes, it finally dawned on me what He had said. “Hey! Why are You taking me back home? You said You were going to train me!” I cried.

“Don’t worry,” He said. “We won’t arrive until you’re trained.”

It took me a while to try to sort that out. “So… You’ll be training me on the way?”

“Yes. We won’t get there until you’re trained.”

“Oh, ok. Gotcha.” Little did I know that I had no clue what He meant.

We walked some more. And walked. And… well, you know. But it wasn’t as boring as it sounds. The forest was beautiful and quiet, and I was walking beside the Prince of Peace.

Photo Credit

After a while, Jesus finally stopped walking and said, “We’ll make camp here for the night and continue your training in the morning.”

I can’t deny that I gave Him a funny look. Continue? I didn’t know we had started. I hadn’t even touched a sword or a bow yet!

Jesus stripped the lower branches off some nearby trees and soon had a small fire going. He took bread, canteens filled with water, and light blankets out of the leather bag He carried on His back. We ate and then slept on the soft moss with the blankets over us. The weather was perfect. I didn’t feel cold until early in the morning.

Shivering, I pulled my blanket more tightly around me. My eyelids fluttered for just a second, but what I saw in that moment made me sit up and scream.

The shadow creatures were back.

Again they pulled at me with their freezing hands. I cried, “No!” and tried to stand, but they kept me firmly fixed to the ground. I looked around for Jesus, but the shadow creatures surrounded me and blocked my view of Him.

Suddenly, there was the same dizzying light, the same trance-like feeling, and the same urge to give in.

No! I willed myself to fight back. I couldn’t fail again. I couldn’t let myself give in.

But the shadow creatures didn’t let me go, and I couldn’t tear myself from them. I started to wonder if I really wanted to. Was that prison so bad? Were the chains really so heavy? And Jesus would rescue me as soon as I asked Him to. He was nice like that.

The overwhelming feeling of false peace washed over me. The creature leaned over and whispered, “Follow meee….”

I don’t even remember the first step this time. All I know is that I found myself starting awake, once again, in the prison tower with the vague memory that I had chained myself there.

I had never thought I would fall into the same trap. If it had been horrible the first time I failed, it was double the horror now.

And then I thought of Him. I’d let Him down. And that was the greatest heartbreak of all. How could I have ever thought He would rescue me again? And even if He did, how could I face Him?

My shame overwhelmed me. My guilt was heavier than my chains. I mourned and moaned in the tower for days. No one came, which only made my sorrow deepen until it was so deep I felt like I could drown in it.

I was hungry, thirsty, tired, and cold. It was the closest to death I have ever been.

Finally, just when I thought I would burst from the pain, I did the only thing left to be done. I cried out for help.

“God,” I whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please… help me. I’ll die without You.”

I cried myself to sleep.

The Battle Surrendered--Part 1 of 5

I'm excited to introduce to you our first part in a series of five stories written by Storyteller SilverLoom! We were graciously given permission to use it. It's a beautiful story, and I just KNOW you'll love it like both Tiffany and I have. But...we can't post it all today. It will have to come in segments. Come back tomorrow for part two!

Part One

By Storyteller SilverLoom

They came at night. There was no time to prepare. I had no idea they were coming for me… until it was too late.

I woke up just in time to see them reaching for me. They looked like shadowy silhouettes of humans. They had no faces, no features to distinguish one from another. Their fingers were like black icicles circling around my arms, neck, and head.

Screaming, I pulled back, trying to roll over and get away. The shadow creatures didn’t let go.

A dim light suddenly shone. But instead of clarifying, this light made everything blurry. It illuminated the shadow creatures, but they didn’t disappear like shadows; instead, they seemed to grow more solid. Their skin turned white, soft, and pleasantly warm. I could see their eyes; dark, but gentle. The light seemed to come from someplace behind the creatures.

A strange feeling invaded my body and mind, like the one you get when you have a fever and take a sedative cold medicine. Under the unnatural disorientation, I started to wonder why I was fighting. I thought that I wasn’t being hurt, so why bother struggling? It was too much work to try to get away.

The creatures made me stand beside my bed. I didn’t resist. One of the creatures twittered in my ear, its voice soothing, “Follow meee….”

I didn’t ask where it wanted me to follow it to. I would see when I got there. It would take too much effort to talk.

I remember taking the first step to follow the creature. Something in me warned that what I was doing was stupid and wrong, but I buried the feeling and stepped forward. The next thing I knew, I was blinking as if I had just woken up. I was no longer in my bedroom.

Photo Credit

The eerie light was gone. The shadow creatures were gone. I was completely alone in a dark, damp prison. The only light in the place filtered in from a crack in the wall high above me. My ankles and wrists were chained to the stone floor of the dungeon. I had a vague memory of the creatures telling me to chain myself up.

“Hello?” I called. No answer came. The only sound was the rhythmic dripping of water from a corner of my prison. “Hey! Let me go! Get me out of here!” I yelled. Was it my imagination, or did I hear malicious laughter coming from the darker parts of the dungeon?

My heart pounded with fear. I had never thought something like this could happen to me. This stuff only happened to people in stories. It wasn’t supposed to happen in real life.

A scream welled up inside of me and I let it go. The worst part of it was that I knew I had put myself in this place. I hadn’t fought hard enough.

I curled up on the cold stone floor and sobbed. Then I called for the only One who could hear me. “God, please… please help me! I don’t know where I am! I shouldn’t have given in. Please! Help me!”

As my tears fell, the light from the crack in the wall suddenly disappeared. I stopped mid-sob and froze. I even held my breath.

A voice reverberated off the solid walls of my prison. “Hello, down there!”

I looked up at the crack. The face of a man stared back at me, his head almost completely covering the small crack. He had the widest smile I had ever seen. “Not the most comfortable place to live, I’d say.”

I wiped my teary eyes with my pajama sleeve. “Can… can you get me out?” I asked.

His smile grew even larger. “That’s what I came here to do.”

Come back tomorrow for installment number two!